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Looking for adventure in Harlan County? Cupp Lake, a 2- to 3-acre lake on the Pine Mountain Adventure Trail (PMAT) provides primitive camping, fishing, a place to water your horses and breathtaking beauty.

Previously owned by the Cupp family in Harlan County, the area was sold to the Kentucky Department of Forestry and later leased by the county in 2013.

“Cupp Lake is a place where you can sit and enjoy the view with the beautiful foliage or stop and water your horses and perhaps go for a swim in the summer months,” said Harlan County Economic Developer Tony Felosi. “A lot of people have never visited the area, which is also accessible by car. I think it’s about time everyone discovered some of these hidden treasures of Harlan County.”

On the Pine Mountain Adventure Trail you’ll also see Rebel Rock, which is a longtime tourist attraction — a cliff rising high into the sky. You’ll see miles of cliff lines and scenic views of Pine Mountain.

“Little Shepherd Trail is absolutely gorgeous this time of year and all the other seasons of the year, each offering their own unique beauty and colors of the season,” said Felosi. “You can do a car tour of the entire area, visiting Goss Park, Cupp Lake, Laden Trail and the Little Shepherd Trail. You’ll be able to see all sorts of unique rock formations on the Pine Mountain Adventure Trail, thing such as yards of cliffs with millions of pebbles and seashells embedded.”

“Everyone is on board from the governor’s office to U.S Rep.Hal Rogers to the counties involved,” said Lonnie Riley, co-director of Meridzo Center Ministries and partner in the development of the PMAT. “This trail will also tie into the Tri-Cities and Letcher County Trail Town initiatives.

“I think it shows a great collaboration between federal, state, local and volunteers — that’s how the trails will be maintained, through volunteerism. This is a good thing. The coal industry is not what it used to be here in eastern Kentucky so we have to look at other ways of re-evaluating the entire area of eastern Kentucky. There’s no reason the rest of the world shouldn’t come to eastern Kentucky to visit. We’re excited about the possibility. We’re ready to partner with the people who have the citizens at their heart and have a vision for what can be.”

For more information, you may call 606-573-2600 or email tfelosi@harlanonline.net.